Rory's Adventures
by LINARI22
Summary: "What the HELL is that!" "That's a bird, Rory…" "Fascinating, so those are the mystical bords " "It pronounced BIRD, Rory…" "That's what I said Birwd" The pirate crew sweatdropped at Rory's accent and her actual denial of it. "Close enough…"
1. A Red King is Born

**The Red King is Born**

Tatsumura Chimon was a gorgeous woman that was absolutely adored by all her people. She had beautiful, voluptuous curves, shiny blonde hair, and warm blue eyes. Chimon was the woman that would help the elderly cross the road, the woman that would donate her time and money to the less fortunate, and the type of person that would sit and listen to one's concerns. Needless to say Tatsumura Chimon was the nurturer, the exact opposite of her husband, Tatsumura Daiki.

Tatsumura Daiki was an intimidating man. He was tall and easily loomed over his people, he had bold black hair, and fierce red eyes. This was the man who would not think twice about killing someone, the man that was hard on his children, and the man that his people feared and admired. However cheesy it would sound though, Tatsumura Chimon was his only weakness. The only one that would that would make him stop and reconsider his actions. After all, they had their own love story. A bond developed after years of pursuing, a love that has been through hell and back. Another unconditional love.

Chimon had remembered when Daiki had proposed to her and his parents were ecstatic. After all Tatsumura Chimon was a girl that was well off, she was from a wealthy family and she had excellent noble manners. Which was a plus for the traditional Daiki, however the thing that attracted him to her was that Chimon was, well... a rule breaker. She didn't seem like the type to break the rules, which made Daiki originally lose interest in her. It was her mischievous smile and flirty eyes that had caught his attention.

"I would never be attracted to such a _rigid_ man such as yourself~" Daiki's eyebrows shot up all the way to his hairline that day. He couldn't believe that this seemingly innocent girl would say such a suggestive thing. Daiki responded with a wolfish smirk and leaned closer to the attractive woman. "Who said I was rigid." Chimon peered at his handsome face through her lashes a small smile playing on her lips.

"You're a man that bends to the will of your parents." Chimon stood up definitely and looked down at the man who had excitement dancing in his eyes. He stood up, looking down at the woman in a sultry manner.

"Soon this will all be mine…" At that moment Chimon did not truly understanding what he had meant by that, but what Chimon did know was that she wanted this man. Yes, he was sexy but he was also an intelligent creature. Chimon loved to uncover the mind games that he would try to throw her way.

* * *

A couple years after their first meeting they had their first child.

Tatsumura Hideki, a handsome young boy with promise. He was gifted, a fire commander, Papa Daiki's heart swelled with pride, but there was a thought running through his head.

 _The next Tatsumura heir is a male with red eyes_

Chimon would remember the conversations the two would have, she remembered what Daiki had told her before they got married.

"I have a country to run." She would recall all those moments were he would act like a cold jerk, when he would look at her with disappointment in his eyes when she would give birth to his children.

Chimon would look at the way Daiki would stare at his children with disinterest, he was waiting, he was waiting for her to bear the next heir of their country.

2 years later, Chimon gave birth to another child. Tatsumura Kameko. As soon as word got out that this was a female with blonde hair and blue eyes, Daiki had not even bothered to show up to the birthing. It's almost as if Kameko knew that she was being rejected that day, for her cries echoed throughout the castle for 3 days straight.

"Can you please shut her up!" Hideki would cry to his mother stuffing his pillow over his head in distress. Hideki who was only 2 years old at the time and seemed to already develop a deep understanding of his position. Yes Hideki was a male, so of course he would have it better than his younger sister. The only thing Hideki had to think about was the possibility of another sibling that fit the requirements to a T.

"Hideki." Mama Chimon's voice cracked through the air like a whip, causing her boy to stop squirming around his bed. He slowly peeled his pillow from his face and peered at his mama who started back in disappointment. Hideki hated those eyes, he was used to seeing them on his father, but seeing them on his mama, the woman who would always believe in him, coo at him (even though he claimed it was embarrassing), and support him hurt like hell.

"Respect you sister." And that was the only time that Mama Chimon had to remind the boy. However as the time passed by, it looked at if sister Kameko needed this reminding as well. After 7 years, Hideki being 9 years old, Kameko being 7, and the newest edition Tatsumura Ryujin Rory. Kameko remembered being at the delivery room when her Mama Chimon was giving birth to their new sibling.

Tatsumura Kameko remembered being a nervous wreck. If the child ended up fulfilling her father's requirements, then that simply meant that all of her efforts would be in vain. Sure, she was in constant competition with her brother, but that didn't mean that her chances were at a zero. Kameko was gifted by the dragons, she was a water commander. And sure the water didn't listen to her commands 100 percent of the time, but she had great physical strength and was extremely intelligent. Kameko was a hard worker, and much to her irritation, what she completed with her hard work, Hideki matched with natural talent.

She remembered her father attending this child's birth because their royal birth specialist had said that this fetus had a high probability of caring the red eyed gene. Kameko stood outside the delivery room fidgeting with her blonde locks, pacing back and forward. If her father had seen how nervous she was, no doubt he would have been disappointed.

"A Tatsumura always carries themselves with pride and will never be hesitant" Hideki hadn't even bothered to show up and he was probably out fooling around with his friend that he made at the Academy. Kameko could feel her father's overwhelming presence in the room, along hearing her mother's cries. Not so long after that Kameko's ears were graced with the cry of a baby.

"It's a girl." Chimon exhaled with relief, a proud smile gracing her pale face. Her blonde locks disheveled and her whole being radiated pride and exhaustion. She glanced to look at her husband who had a blank look to his face. It was hard, cold, and calculating. He didn't have the tender love for when Hideki was born, nor the sasified half-smile when Kameko was born. He seemed as if he was more worn than the Queen herself, who had literally just went through labor.

The newest Tatsumura was indeed a female who looked like the splitting image of her father. The curly black locks and those fierce eyes that were covered with layers of tears. Tatsumura Daiki looked at this child and he saw….well potential. He saw two possible outcomes to this. One, his dear wife Chimon seemed to be getting both older and tired of having children. He could roll the dice and see if she could bear another one of his children, or if he should tell a simple white lie and say that this is his new son.

"No." Chimon looked up from her babbling daughter to her Daiki. The birthing lady took time to peek from the child's birth certificate that she was filling out. "This is our **_son_**."

Chimon pursued her lips, her brows furrowed in confusion, "What are you saying?"

"This is not our daughter. This is our son. Tatsumura Rory, the next heir."

"Rory," Chimon parroted. That was the name that two had decided for their child if it were to have red eyes. Rory was the name for their next son, the next heir. But this was their daughter, Daiki gave her a crazed smirk as he snatched their daughter.

"This is now our son. Not a daughter. I shall raise him to be our next heir." The birthing specialist tried her best to keep her expression blank as she swiftly checked the male nova box and carefully printed the boy's name.

"Congratulations on your son." She took a bow before excusing herself, obviously uncomfortable with the new turn of events.

"What is the meaning of this Daiki?"

"Kameko enter the room." Kameko had never felt this way before. The drop in her stomach, the hitch in her breath, and her face flushing in jealousy. She stared at the child in her father's arms, she analyzed his face and she could see that his face was beaming with happiness .

"This is your _brother_ , Rory." Kameko clenched her fists and did a brief curtsy in the presence of her parents. Kameko stared harshly at the new lump of flesh, her blue eyes taking in the baby's pale skin, it's black tufts of hair, and most importantly it's bleeding red eyes. Rory, as if noticing Kameko's glare began to cry, much to her annoyance.

Rory, _the red king_. His very name was mocking her. Telling her that she would never get to be the rutler of their country.

The seven year old girl moved her glare to Mama Chimon, as if she was demanding an explanation. Rory was the only child who had inherited their father's gleaming red eyes, which stabbed at Kameko's confidence. Kameko had thought her only competition to the throne would be her elder brother, Hideki. Who was capable of course, he wouldn't have the Tatsumura name if he wasn't. But Kameko had thought that if she worked hard enough to please her father, he would overlook the fact that she was a female, and maybe give her a chance.

"King Daiki allow me to take Prince Rory for his medical review" One of the nurses bowed at a perfect 90 degree angle. The nurse's blonde hair whipped forward and her bird nose protruded out of her pale face. Kameko distastefully looked at the nurse and her grace, or lack thereof. Mama Chimon took the child from her husband, humming a calming tune for Rory to finally settle down before hesitantly handing him over. Kameko scoffed slightly before aggressively turning her heels away from her mother, blaming her for having another child.

"Excuse me, I'm going to collect Hideki" Kameko bite out, speed walking out of the delivery room. Kameko made heavy steps in the halls, briefly noting the room that the bird-nurse was taking Rory. Rory was a new variable in the equation of being the next ruler, but Kameko was known for being headstrong. She never backed down from any battle, making her the 2nd strongest at the academy. Of course the 1st being the eldest brother, but Kameko was hot on his heels. The fact that this new lump of flesh had red eyes didn't scare her one bit.

At least that's what she told herself...

It was with this new resolve that made Kameko confidently knock on the golden door. Blue eyes stared at blue. Kameko smirked and she closed the distance between the two, touching foreheads. They stayed like that for three seconds before Kameko made her way into Hideki's room.

"Brother."

"Sister."

"He has red eyes." Kameko snapped her blue eyes upward. Staring at Hideki, of course he doesn't look worried at all, he wasn't stiff and his posture was relaxed.

Kameko scoffed.

 _'He thinks that because he is the oldest he doesn't have to worry'_ All Kameko knew at this time was that she wanted to knock him down his pedestal. She wanted to hit him where it hurts, make him anxious like how she was feeling.

"Father said that the child with red eyes would be the next one." Hideki laughed, running his hand through his matching locks. The siblings were a splitting image blonde hair with matching orbs, tan skin, and even were the same height.

Except their personalities were the exact **opposite**.

Kameko was a planner, she was always anxious about the future and a hard worker. Were as Hideki was careless, he didn't have to work for all the recognition that he got at all. And the fact that this baby would make him feel the way he made her feel. Well… Kameko was feeling smug.

"So what's his name?" He didn't know what to say, for once in his smug life the eldest Tatsumura was left speechless. Hideki was uncomfortable, he was actually scared for once. And at this moment Kameko forgot her worries, she was on cloud nine.

"Rory.." Kameko watched as Hideki winced at his name, the name of the next heir. And for once in her life Kameko felt understood.

* * *

The fact that Tatsumura Rory was born on the day of the Dragon Festival was extremely **annoying.** It was June 7th and the mainland was bustling with energy, all the women adorned their best kimono and the men their best yukata. No doubt the royal family had to make an appearance, and of course that meant showing off the newborn red-eyed devil.

Kameko aggressively bite into her meat. Her father, King Daiki sat at the head of he table. Calmly eating, his eyes surveying everything and no doubt noticing the vulgar way that Kameko was stuffing food in her mouth. But at this point the girl did not care, perhaps she was in denial earlier, but now that they are having a family breakfast Kameko had accepted the dire situation.

A red-eyed child had been born.

Meaning the Kameko and Hideki no longer mattered. This baby. Rory was now the one. The next ruler.

* _Clink_ *

Kamko blinked. The broken plate stared right back at her, and the gravy the garnished her meat gracefully flowed onto the table and on her white kimono. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hideki smirked and that all she needed.

She slammed her left hand on the table and propelled herself forward towards Hideki, his eyes widening. Eyes glazed over with tears she let a battle cry out, fist glowing blue Kameko pounded them towards her brother. Hideki snarled as he blocked her attack his own wine-colored fists.

Kameko's hands shook as she couldn't exactly match Hideki's strength. But no matter. Keeping her hold with her left hand, Kameko used her right to grab onto Hideki's lengthy blond hair.

"That **enough**!" Daiki's voice boomed around the entire room, sit down immediately" His tone left no room for argument, and Kameko's hands were sweating as she returned to her assigned seat. Hideki followed suit after confirming that the threat was gone.

Kameko's nostrils flared at her father's glare.

"What has gotten into you Kameko, this behavior is not acceptable. Especially not today." King Daiki's eyes were an intimidating, striking red. A red that controls the whole land, a red that demands respect, a red that Kameko desperately wanted.

She stared back, dull blue clashing with brilliant scarlet.

"Father, Rory has red eyes, what does this mean for us!" Kameko cried out, passionately gesturing towards her older brother, who was actually seemed nonchalant about the whole situation. Making her seem more crazy.

"Kameko!" Daiki matched her volume, obviously disgusted with the disrespect that she was displaying. He too stood up, his tall figure freezing both of the Tatsumura offspring.

"It doesn't matter if Rory carries red eyes. You too carry the Tatsumura name and I expect you to carry it with pride and respect…" Kameko lowered her head in shame. Her resolve that she carried in her fit of rage dissipating rapidly. Her eyes began to unfamiliarly water and on the inside she further shamed herself for displaying her emotions. For some reason Kameko could feel everyone's eyes burning whole into her, as if she were invisible.

The apology was leaving her lips so fluidly that the princess didn't even register that it came from her. Daiki sat down his small blip of rage gone and replaced with a new emotion. One that Kameko completely hated, especially since it was directed at her.

Disappointment.

Kameko walked out of the room, the tears uncontrollably falling out of her eyes. Her loud footsteps echoed throughout the entire castle and Kameko knew that she had to leave. She had to get out of that suffocating place. Once she had left the back gate, Kameko broke out into a run. Her wooden sandals long forgotten at the hallways.

Kameko had only stopped when she could not longer feel her feet and she let out a roar. The roar echoed along the cliff that she had naturally stopped at. The waves at the bottom on the cliff clashed violently, clouds was suddenly filled with precipitation that rained on her. Her legs could no longer carry her weight, snot and tears flowed down her face. Her dream of being the next ruler was gone, by the simple birth of her younger brother. And Kameko wanted nothing more than to get rid of the younger sibling.

Kameko's heart was heavy as she let all her sobs out.

* * *

Rory babbled nonsense as she stared at the man before him. She blinked owlishly blinked at the man in front of her. His presence felt too strong. Rory blinked again, her eyes begining to water at his overwhelming being.

"Rory huh…" The man studied the girl, his new _son_. Who undeniably carried his red eyes and his black curls. Mama Chimon frowned as she also studied her newest creation, putting her pinky in the baby's small hand. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to confront her husband about the matter of changing their baby's gender. She didn't know if that topic was up for discussion, after all Mama Chimon knew King Daiki best. She knew when to question matters and when she would be able to voice her opinions. Which, yes, it did suck. It sucked to be content with all the decisions that your husband makes. But Queen Chimon wasn't sure what she could do.

 _ **"You could kill him."**_ Chimon had remembered when her daughter Kameko had made that suggestion, freezing her in her tracks. Which yes, killing him would solve her problems. Only the thing stopping her was her unconditional love and loyalty towards the man.

With that in mind, Mama Chimon disregarded the fact that her daughter was now her son. As long as she would be able to be with her child was all that truly mattered to her. One of the issues would be the fact that the Tatsumura woman were known to develop quite impressive curves. They would have to see a specialist about that.

" _He's_ beautiful." Chimon's smile increased in size as her daughter tightly gripped her finger. "Kameko's upset." Chimon added as an afterthought, she sideglanced her lover, whose eyes never left their son.

"Kameko's feelings are duly noted. However, Kameko was never destined to become Novatera's next ruler." Chimon frowned, goosebumps appearing around her arms. No doubt her body was still sensitive after extensive hours in labor, even though Novas were supposed to heal quicker.

"Kameko is your **daughter** " Chimon put a little more force into her words that made Daiki snap his head in her direction. The only one that openly opposed him would be his loving wife, that he gave his last name to.

"I recognize that Kameko is mine, but she is not fit to run this country. Anyhow if no child had not been born with red eyes than Hideki would be the next one in line for Novatera." Daiki meant no disrespect with his words, he was simply telling the truth because his wife deserved it. And Daiki is not an idiot, he knew that the second eldest child desperately wanted the throne. But Kameko did not have the strength or the maturity that Hideki had. Sure Hideki had seemed uncaring and nonchalant about the idea of ruling, but Daiki had seen him lead, had seen him work. In other words, Hideki was a natural plain and simple.

Daiki does respect Kameko for her struggle, but he needed her to know that she was never close to the throne, that it was never truly a competition between her and Hideki. And now that Rory has been brought to the world he would have to train the "boy" to be the next ruler.

Chimon hummed caressing his arm as both of their attention has been brought to infant, who was quietly staring back. As if she had understood their entire exchange.


	2. The Academy

**The Academy**

Tatsumura Rory was just a mere 2 years old when her training had begun. It stated light, on behalf of physical training she was required to run around the castle. Build up her stamina as well as her agility. At this age she was required to develop her intellectual abilities. She would have hours of tutoring, of educating herself on all foreign affairs, and making sure that she knew everything about her beloved country.

Which is when her interest in the blue seas began. Rory would spend hours reading whatever she could about the blue seas, which wasn't much to begin with. She would read about the land that was separated by some sort of border called the red line, how their seas were so blue that you couldn't see through it, how there were these mystical creatures called birds soaring through the skys. The more the girl read the more hungry she got for information.

Rory knew not to confess her newfound obsession to her siblings or her father. She knew that they would scoff at this and maybe even turn her in to the royal army. After all, seeking out information about the blue seas was illegal in their land. So Rory turned to her mother. She would listen and feverishly write in her notebook about the tales that she would tell her.

She wrote about the pirates rampaging the land, she wrote about the tales of freedom, she wrote about the poneglyphs and how they were connected to Novatera, and most of all she wrote about the tale of the One Piece. The treasure that thousands seeked at the end of this sea called the "Grand Line." Rory knew that Mama Chimon was only answering the girl's questions in hopes that she would eventually lose interest in the foreign land, unfortunately it did the exact opposite. She wanted to see it, experience what it's like to live a land with no dragons, no demons, and no gifted Novas. He wanted to see the humans that didn't have scales like her.

Therefore at 2 years old, Tatsumura Rory knew what she wanted in life and it wasn't to be the successor of the great King Daiki. It was to go to the blue seas and to find the **One Piece**.

* * *

At 3 years old, Rory was deemed old enough to be entered to The Academy. The Academy was a place where students of any race, Novas, demons, etc could come and train and develop their skills. It was a competitive place that help ranking tournaments and of course the girl has to excel, or she would bring shame to the royal name. Rory attended The Academy with her older siblings, which of course weren't in the same class due to the age difference, but nevertheless the girl would see the two during the toruments or passing the hallways.

Rory wasn't gifted in anything flashy like her older brother, nor was she gifted with something cool like her older sister. No Ryujin Rory was gifted in aura. It wasn't anything over the top, and when his father found out that she had her gift in aura, he immediately put her through extensive physical training to make up for her weakness.

Rory tried to make as much as she could out of her gift, after all the dragons blessed her with this gift best believe that she was going to use it. And she did use it to her advantage. Rory quickly found out that she could expand her senses to "see" the people around her. She could coat her limbs in this sort of armor, and she would release her own aura in this lightning-like form. She remembered when she showed her older brother what she could do with her aura gift,

 _ **"Look Hideki I can make warm-stuff like you!" Hideki had cooly strolled past the boy who was displaying his own white, cold sparks.**_

 _ **"You call that fire..." he dawled. Rory had never been kicked so far away in her life, which isn't really saying much because the girl was only 3**_.

One of Rory's fondest memories of the academy was the meeting of her best friend, Natsume. Who was the son of one of the royal guards, her resident demon boy. She remembered when Natsume had caught her trying to make his white sparks.

"Wow I can do that too!" Natsume had been extremely excited to see a fellow classmate perform a similar trick as him, and ever since that day. Well...the two have been inseparable. It was with Natsume that Rory had discovered her love for swimming as well as her extreme fear of bugs. Natsume was also the first one to figure out that Rory was a girl, which was bound to happen since the two would often go swimming together. Rory remembered laughing at the blushing, stuttering mess that he had turned to and had sworn him to secrecy.

Of course King Daiki had not approved of their friendship and had to have days of coaxing from Queen Chimon to allow Rory to hang out with the "low-life" Natsume. Queen Chimon had been extremely excited and pleased to find out that Rory was making friends at the Academy and encouraged the girl to spend more time with Natsume.

Rory had remembered when they found a huge egg by a lake they would often swim in…

 _ **"Let eat it!" Natsume exclaimed mouth-watering at all the dishes they could whip up with an egg that big.**_

 _ **"No you idiot, this is a frog egg!" Rory crossed her arms and intently stared at the above average egg. She could feel the eggs powerful presence, and concluded that this wasn't just any old frog.**_

 _ **"Let's raise it!" Rory declared, red eyes crinkling in excitmentment. Natsume's own gold eyes widened at the declaration, but nevertheless listened to the girl's announcement.**_

* * *

"What do these things eat anyways?" Natsume ran a frustrated hand through his green locks as he stared at the growing tadpole, the two decided to name Wallace after hours of arguing (Mostly Natsume arguing that he should be named Natsu Jr.).

"I dunno...bugs and stuff?" The two shivered almost in sync, as if they practiced they reactions. But not after wandering through the Novatera forest and fighting off the oversized insects, one wouldn't really be fond of seeing them after that. Nevertheless the two would push down their fears to find food for little old Wallace, meaning that Rory would send Natsume to fetch the food while she would "guard their stuff."

"Isn't Queen Chimon giving birth today?" Natsume questioned throwing a piece of dead fly body at Wallace.

"Ah, to my younger brother, Sora-chan~" Rory had been looking forward to seeing her younger brother. She fondly recalls when she didn't even know that her mother was pregnant, simply thinking that she "was getting fat." Rory had received two bumps on her head after saying that.

"What about you Natsu-chan, do you have any siblings?"

"Nah, it's just father and me." It wasn't anything sad, Natsume was content with having his father and he didn't think about the fact that his mother was absent. He just assumed that she had passed away and his father didn't want to talk about it. Instead Natsume focused his efforts in becoming a strong royal soldier, and of course rasing Wallace with Rory.

"But you have me and Wally-chan too!" Rory grinned, her eyes turning into crescent moons, she was giving off this aura of sincerity that made Natsume's face heat up.

'Shoot' He thought before throwing himself in the lake with Wallace.

'Why does she have to say things like **that**!?' Natsume left himself sink into the dense water fore resurfacing to a confused Rory.


	3. Good Luck

**WARNING: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE**

* * *

 **"Good Luck"**

Tatsumura Rory loved to swim. She would spend hours in the ocean pumping her legs through the jelly-like water or simply float on top. Her father would approve of this pass time as the results of her efforts would be shown off in swimming competitions. Rory would get a whopping first place, surpassing her siblings as well, even if their legs were longer. Rory would snatch Wallace who was playing around in the forest and they would often swim together, Wallace even learned how to swim the front crawl! Of course, Rory would invite her best friend Natsume, but he was often busy training with his father. And Rory didn't want to be the one to get in between him and his father, royal status or not.

Wallace who was now 2 years old was now a full grow frog. He was colored in green and yellow with bright salmon eyes. Wallace was larger than usual, so large that Rory could put a saddle on him and the frog would allow her to ride. Wallace was so big that he could allow Rory and Natsume to ride and still have extra space. Therefore Rory took advantage of that fact and installed some storage areas on the frog. And Wallace wasn't just some ordinary, oversized frog. Sure the frog could jump high, swim, and run at an impressive rate, but this frog had webbed feet. Not just for swimming but these membranes could be used for flying!

So the two of them would spend hours trying to get the large frog to fly, it was a little shaky at first. (Rory went home with a black eye the first time) But the two would finally get used to it, Rory had purchased a pair or red-tinted goggles for the air and for swimming as well.

Rory grinned as she felt her Wally-chan's presence in the forest practicing his flight and peddled her own feet in the clear waters. Rory was now 5 years old and she hasn't changed much. She had lost a lot of her original fat due to training, but still had those annoying chubby cheeks. Her father wouldn't let her grow out her hair, keeping it in a short army cut. Right now, however, he had allowed her to grow it chin-length of thick curls. Rory was also no longer that pale-lump of flesh as she now had a deep tan. One that she got due to the harsh rays of Novatera.

"Tatsumura!" Scarlet eyes snapped open and Rory peered down through her eyelashes. A small, lanky boy with green hair and bright gold eyes excitedly stared at her. The boy wore a white tank top, contrasting nicely on his own tan skin, and baggy gray shorts. Rory grinned back and began to pedal her feet further from the tan boy.

"Oi?!" The boy cried out in surprise, when the girl began to swim away from him, he ran towards the ocean, his feet treading through the jelly-like substance.

"Na-chan, how many time do I have to tell you~" Rory sung out, her legs pounding through the heavy ocean as she swam on her back.

"Not so far Tatsumura!" Natsume shouted as the water level began to rise to his young, short legs. The ocean was extremely dense, almost like a jelly, and was extremely clear. If you looked down from the surface than you would be able to see miles down. The ocean was so dense that you would be able to jump the surface a couple times before being fully submerged. Therefore swimmers on Novatera required tons of training. Something that Tatsumura would dedicate hours to do.

"Call me Rory-chan~" Rory stopped her backstroke and smoothly transitioned to a front crawl, her five year old legs screaming for a break. Natsume blushed slightly, sighing with relief to see that the small girl was coming back to safety. Ever since he found out that Rory was a **she** rather than a **he** , the boy sticked to more formal language around her. His relief was short lived when the girl slammed into the boys chest. Causing him to tumble down on the jelly surface. Rory grinned, her black curls sticking on her face, and her face was flushed by the physical exertion.

"You're a mess…" Natsume laughed at Rory's pout and tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear. Rory giggled and touched their foreheads together.

"I want to leave." Natsume pursued his lips and stared at Rory's glowing eyes without flinching. The girl would always make remarks like that, and Natsume would listen to them everytime, because thats what best friends do. But this time it was different. Rory had said it with such conviction, it's almost as if she already planned everything out.

"Mama told me to go. To explore the blue sea!" Natsume flinched at the volume change as well as the sensitive subject. It been 2 years since her mama had passed away. Rory remembered with regret how she didn't attend her baby brother's birth. Maybe she could have done something. Maybe she could have sensed that if they kept going with the natural birth that her mama would die. Rory wallowed in a year of self-loathing after that.

"What about Sora?" It was Rory's turn to flinch away from their proximity. Sora. Her little baby brother who was just 2 years old. Rory was the only one in the Tatsumura family who would care for the little Sora. The reason? Well there were two, according to Papa Daiki. One, the boy had been born with black hair and black eyes. Meaning that the last child of the Tastumura family was a dud, he wasn't blessed by the dragon Gods, he was an embarrassment to the family. The second reason was...well…Mama Chimon has died giving birth to do that dud. Which also meant that the whole country hated that child.

Angry, impatient tears began to pour out of her red eyes, and her face scrunched up in an ugly manner.

"I don't want to be here anymore, everyone hates me! Father expects too much of me!"

"So you're just going to run away!" Natsume boomed, tightly gripping her pale arms. His gold eyes fiercely stared into the crying girls face. He didn't even shy away when that said girls snot dripping down her chin and on his arm.

"You don't understand! I'm not supposed to be the next ruler! I want to be free, explore the world" Rory pounded her fists on Natsume's chest, and he wasn't going to lie. It hurt like hell. Instead of letting go, the boy tightened his hold on the girl and threw her over his head. Rory landed on the pink sand with a small 'oof'.

Rory blinked in surprise and she stared at the blue sky in front of her. It was light blue, she was told that the blue she stares at was the color of the ocean and the other side. The world with oceans that were a beautiful blue, with ships that sailed only with the wind, and with people who were simple. No scales, no horns, no obnoxious eye colors, and no dragons.

"you threw me…" she made no move to hit him back or to give him a hard time like usual.

"yeah… I guess I did" Natsume sighed and threw himself next to her, spralling his limbs on the soft sand. He too stared at the sky in a daze, yes the boy had also thought of leaving their little world. But he took an oath to protect the throne no matter what, meaning that he couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

"You shouldn't be running away" Rory tightened her lips and stubbornly turned her head away from the sky. The sight of it made her want to vomit.

"I know." And she did, Rory had responsibilities too. She wasn't just the typical girl would could dream about what she wanted to do when she grew up. No. Her whole future was decided for her the moment she was born. The moment she was born with her fathers red eyes.

And the girl wasn't going to lie, she loved her country. The dense, clear ocean, the traditional white clothing, the dragon festival, the yellow trees, and the oversized animals. She loved all the quirks her land had to offer, but the leadership wasn't for her. She didn't want to make decisions for her people although she does feel the strong natural need to protect them. Rory was naturally curious. So when her mother told her those forbidden stories of the land with blue seas, people with normal skin, and the land that was rampaging with pirates. Well… Rory wanted to see that land for herself.

* * *

Tatsumura Rory was seven years old when she gained a serious interest in her younger brother. Sure, the girl would care for him, feed him, and play with him. But Rory kept a certain...well distance away from the boy. She honestly didn't want to get attached after she found out that he was the reason that her mother passed, and she hated herself for that. Rory knew better than to judge someone for something that they couldn't control. She knew better because that's the way her older siblings would treat her, simply because of her ruby eyes.

It was when she was seven and Sora was a mere five years old when she caught him practicing the tongue of the blue-sea dwellers, which was considered extremely illegal. Their father Tatsumura Daiki had told them that to handle foreign affairs they would simply use the translator stone. That learning the tongue of the blue-sea dwellers was considered degrading for Novas such as themselves.

Nevertheless instead of scolding her baby brother Rory immersed herself in the wonderful language. It was difficult of course, their tongues refused to correctly pronounce some of the words, and Rory seemed to be the only one with an accent. She would puff out her cheeks and angrily pout saying that it wasn't fair.

"Rory-nee don't be mad~" Sora would tease. The boy still had baby fat all over his cheeks, and he had huge obsidian eyes. Rory could not handle looking at his innocent face without pinching at it.

"Shut up Sora!" She snapped back, obviously angry that a boy 2 years her junior could grasp at a concept faster than her. Jealousy danced in her eyes, however pride swelled in her heart. She could tell that her father was slowly gaining interest in Sora's intelligence and was slowly including in the family affairs. Her elder siblings were obviously not happy at first. But it wasn't like they could disobey her father.

Sora was a carefree boy, who was obviously thriving at the fact that he actually didn't have any duties at the castle. And yes, it did hurt that his family didn't like him all that very much, but as long as he had Rory, Natsume, and Wallace. Well the boy felt that everything was good in life.

 ** _But you're a murderer~_ **Sora crinched, he would have those thoughts every once in a while. The thought that he murdered his own mother, the woman whom he only heard great things of. And that was extremely damaging to him, he would try his best to tune out that other person, but he only seemed to get louder. Especially with the glares of Hideki and Kameko.

"Rory-nee, Natsu, Wally-chan," Sora grinned his eyes tearing up, "I **love** you guys!" Rory never smiled so big after her mother's death and scooped the small child in her arms.

"Baka~"

* * *

It was when Tatsumura Ryujin Rory turned 8 years old when she ran away. Of course Rory had listened to Daichi's reasoning back at the sea, and she had complied for 3 more years. There was a specific event that triggered the girl, it was when she attended her second funeral of her life. The funeral was small, it was held at the palace garden, and of course was open to the public. Yet no one for their people came, not even Rory's older siblings decided to show their faces.

The one's there included the royal army (who are obligated to go), Wally-chan (who's supposed to be on Rory's side no matter what), Daichi (her best friend), and her father has graced his presence for a mere 10 minutes. It would most definitely look bad on the king if he decided to not attend his own son's funeral.

 ** _Tatsumura Sora._**

Yes, the girl's beloved little brother had passed away. Was it by natural events like the royal press had leaked...no it was not. It was Rory and Kamo-chan that had found Sora's lifeless body. Rory had went for a swim to exercise her leg muscles and she decided on that particular day to go for a deep dive. It was then that she had noticed a human form sinking and sinking. At this time Rory had not noticed that this boy was her brother and she did not know that this boy was drowning. Instead Rory swam towards the boy thinking that this boy was also going for a deep dive (of course Rory was only a mere 8 years old, she was a positive thinker). Imagine the girls shock when she had noticed that it was Sora. Sora whose eyes were glued shut, Sora whose chest no longer moved with air, Sora whose cheeks were not filled with air. Rory had never swam so fast to the surface her whole life, her legs poudning with pain and her face scrunching in despair.

Rory had tried to resuscitate the boy for 2 hours to no avail. Daichi had seen the girl's desperate cries.

"GO GET HELP **NOW**!" Daichi had stumbled backwards, his eyes filled with fear, and the boy obediently pumped his legs towards the palace. They couldn't save him. Not even with there advanced technology, the boy had drowned 3 hours ago.

"He know how to swim… he knows...he knows how to swim" Rory's eyes were outlined with dark circles and she clutched her head in a crazed manner. Daichi's eyes were filled with something that she absolutely hated, pity. Sora knew how to swim, he would spend hours swimming with them…he had strong legs. Meaning that the boy had let himself drown. Natsume closed his eyes as tears began to surface.

Nevertheless Rory had not expected her family or the public to show. After all this was the boy that has killed their beloved mother. He was born in a world of hatred and he just couldn't handle it. Rory had never cried as much as she did that night. She let out more tears than she did with her mother. Because she knew that Sora had died hating the world and himself, while her mother well she was loved by everyone. She even had the affections of Rory's cold father.

It was a month after that, that Rory had decided to run away. Her list of things to take with her included:

Her mismatched earrings. Part of her aura gift, Rory was allowed to preserve what little life-force she could and channeled it into a stone earring. She had one green stud (for her mother) and one gold (for her brother), that way she could show them all her adventures.

In her black bag she carried her journal, a few nutrition bars, and clothes. Rory had made the decision not to tell Nastume that she was leaving, it was only going to make the process harder. With a heavy heart, Rory disguised her presence and took her bag while waking a disgruntled Wallace. She carried him and approached the immigration gate, her golden tattoo on her right arm glowing. These characters were the only way she would be able to come back to her beloved land.

"Bye bye…" She didn't say it to anyone to particular at the moment. But she later knew that she was saying it to her whole life here. She wasn't going to be Tatsumura Ryujin Rory, and she probably had to adopt another identity so she wouldn't be found.

"And where do you think you're going~" Rory dramatically slipped on the floor, dropping Kamo-chan and slamming her head on the floor.

"Owww~" Rory rubbed her head and snapped her head back to look at her older sister, Kameko. There she was with a sly look on her face and Rory had never thought that someone wearing her mothers eyes would look so intimidating, so cold.

"I'm leaving this messed up place." Rory simply said standing up with a fierce determination in her eyes...her father's eyes. Kameko didn't mind that the girl was leaving, in fact she loved it. The fact the the heir with the red eyes would be running away increases her chances of getting the throne.

"You can have it..." It seems as if they had come to a mutual understanding then.

"...for now that is" Rory's eyes glowed with the same might as her father and Kameko almost found herself stepping back, "I will shake the blue sea until you hear my name in the heavens!" Kameko's eyes widened as she felt the girls will expand throughout the room, and for once she found herself without anything particularly snarky to say.

Kameko's vibrant blue eyes glowed and her fists tightened. She could hear the rain pouring outside, a cliche really. Rain in such a dramatic moment.

"Go then...And I'll deal with father…"

It seems as if they came to a mutual understanding. Kameko wants the throne and she was willing to do whatever her father wanted. Meanwhile Rory despised the throne and only wanted to be as carefree as the dragons flying in the sky.

Kameko has vaguely remembered when the little Rory has told her father what she wanted to do when she grew up.

"I want to be a dragon rider!" The little girl exclaimed, her face splitting in half with her grin, red eyes filled with childlike playfulness. Little Rory had worshipped the dragon riders. On their land, dragons were scared, dragons were the Gods that they worshipped. And the chosen few that were able to take care of those dragon, to ride them, and to talk to them. Her dream was quickly shot down with a slap from her father and a " **No** Rory!" Her father boomed.

Kameko found herself involuntarily returning the small girls quirky grin as she stumbled out of their gate, entering the blue sea.

 **"Good luck"**


	4. Authors Note

These first three chapters are the story's prologue chapters. These are so you guys can kind of get a feel of where Rory comes from and how some of her weaknesses are developed. These chapters are a little rushed and compressed with a lot of information. Therefore I will be starting another book called " **Frog Eggs and Strong Legs"** that will go more into depth about Rory's experience in Novatera. It was also develop Natsume's character more because he will be extremely important later on in " **Rory's Adventures"**.

The next two chapters will show Rory interacting with a certain pirate group and then after that she will start developing her character with Luffy. These chapters about Rory's childhood are so you guys can get a better grasp on her character and her powers, so it will go a little slow. Rory's powers are based off the Superpowers Wiki, under the Aura Manipulation page.

As for pairing and romance I was thinking about making it a Sanji X OC, but we'll see how the story develops.

Hope you guys are enjoying the fic~

The only time I will do the exclaimer: I do **not** own One Piece!

What I **do** own:

Rory and any of my OCs

The Novatera Concept and how they intertwine with the One Piece world itself

Let me know what you guys think!


	5. Red Hair VS Red King

**Red Hair VS Red King**

Rory was never good at remembering names. Afterall she only had to remember 6 names in her eight years of living. So obviously the girl didn't really have the mental capacity to remember even more names. She often would mix up the letters, or get the name completely wrong. And after a while Rory stopped putting in efforts in remembering them. Sometimes should would even stumb when saying her siblings names, opting to saying Brother and Sister respectively instead. Therefore her laziness has granted her a horrible, lifetime habit. Rory also found that if the name was too hard to pronounce, then she simply would give the person a new name, much to their annoyance.

Rory would remembered that the girls would often swoon at her when she called them things like, pretty eyes, or sweet-smelling girl. Much to her confusion.

"It's cause they think you're a dude!" Natsume snapped at the girl, annoyed that she had more game than him. Although Rory had no curves to proclaim herself a female, she prided herself in her alluring face. Her attractive eyes and facial structure with "cute little freckles" that she had to thank her mother for. Rory was known as the "Prince Charming of The Academy."

At this point in her life, after being referred to as a brother and a "he", Rory found herself twitching every time one would call her a girl, which she was! And it wasn't like Rory didn't like being a girl, she just wasn't familiar with it, she didn't know how to respond to it. Which is why she would never get offended when others would think she was **he**.

Which is why Rory didn't even flinch when the man in front of her called her a "small boy." Rory didn't know what to expect when she went through that gate. She could only go off of the tales that her mother would tell her and the books that were in her library. Rory most definitely did not expect to be falling through the sky. She couldn't understand why she felt so much lighter, why the air tasted so different, and why she could only see endless stretched of blue. It seemed that Wallace was also in a state of shock, because the silly frog forgot that it could fly.

Rory let out a nervous laugh as she thought about the events that went down before her placement on the pirate ship….

Rory felt her chest heaving and her eyes widened in horror.

 _Think..think….THINK_ For some reason Rory wasn't processing as fast as she could have. And for some other reason she couldn't breath, no matter what she did she couldn't catch her breath. And maybe that had to do with the fact that she was falling. Yes right now, this 8 year old girl was falling through the sky. At least what she thought was the sky.

"WALLY!" She belted the air whipping across her face and she wondered why she felt so light. She wondered why she felt she could so easily cut through the air. _It's more heavy over there…_

Rory reached out and grabbed Wally who seemed as paniaced as she was.

" **GEEEKKKOOO** " Wallace's screeches pounded against Rory's ear but she didn't find it anything but amusing. Looking down Rory saw endless stretches of blue, her eyes widened in awe, and she let out an obnoxious laugh.

"Wally" the frog stopped his complaining to look forward as well, "it's the ocean." It was a deeper blue than the sky she would spend hours looking at, and when she looked at this ocean, well she couldn't see miles down it like the one back home. The blue was fast approaching and panic began to settle inside the too.

"OH SHIT" Rory closed her eyes and she felt her body crash against something hard.

"Oops…" Was what Rory said while grinning, her eyes rolling in the back of her head before passing out.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL!" The pirates chorused looking at the child that just plummeted through the sky and on to the ship. Now these pirates have been to to the freaking Grand Line, they have seen the unusual, as a matter of fact they welcomed the unusual. However this wasn't the Grand Line, they were sailing the East Blue. The East Blue! Of all blues this would be the one that would be the most ordinary, the least likely to have something interesting occur. Other than Gol D. Roger of course (and the course half the Straw Hat Crew)…

Now to see a child plummet through the sky and onto their ship was not something the pirates would have expected. And to add icing to the cake…

"THATS A HUGE ASS FROG!"

"Captain" Ben Beckman looked over to see his captain childishly gawking at the pair that fell through the sky. Ben was thinking that the situation was somewhat ironic. That maybe the heavens were angry because their captain refused to let the little boy from Foosha Village on their adventures, so they gave them another little boy to deal with.

"Why the hell are all these little kids following me~" Shanks whined running a hand through his red locks. His head felt naked, for it's been about a week since he gifted his precious straw hat to Monkey D. Luffy...as well as his left arm. Small sacrifices for an investment in the future, what could he say, Shanks loved to roll his dice and gamble on the future.

"It's a boy!" Jerry Rockbottom exclaimed poking the said child. Shanks raised an eyebrow at how Jerry was examining the pair, Jerry who was a new addition to their crew was their resident geek. The man loved to read and was naturally curious. A boy flying through the sky seemed to be right up the man's alley.

"No shit Sherlock, what about this gigantic fucking frog!" Ah...and there was Ken Rockbottom, who was the one that loved to point out others mistakes. He sounds like a huge ass but he has a good heart, and like his brother hungered for an adventure. Plus Jerry wouldn't leave his island without his brother, some sort of intense brotherly bond.

"He seems to be fine…" Jerry mused looked over the child, he didn't have any physical injuries and seemed like any regular healthy, young boy. He seemed well-off even. Donning a silk white button-up, with a matching vest. Ridiculous looking pumpkin shorts and ankle boots, the boy even had two piercing with some expensive looking gems attached to his ears.

"Why is he wearing all white?"

"Fuck that, are those horns!?"

"A demon maybe?"

Shanks stepped forward, poking the child with his shoe. He seemed to be knocked out cold, which makes sense after a fall like that. It's not like they could sail with a child on board, that could go downhill very quickly. But it's also not like they could leave him just anywhere, yes Shanks was a pirate but he wasn't heartless. He likes to think that his little anchor at Foosha Village made him a little soft when it comes to children.

Looking at the child more closely, there was something off about his aura, it was colored a brilliant red. And it honestly made Shank's head buzz slightly if he focused too much on it.

"What are you thinking Captain?" Shanks grinned and turned to face his first-mate.

"Well I think it's about time Luffy could use a playmate~" Benn smirked at Shanks's idea of seeing that little rugrat again. Although it would be a little awkward to come back to the island so soon after his dramatic gesture, Shanks was excited to see Luffy again.

"Foosha Village is a week away, are you sure you don't want us to drop them off on a nearby island?" Now Ben wasn't against seeing the little old Luffy, but it's not like they had all the time in the world to spend with the boy.

"It's what I wanna do~" Shanks stated childishly turning away from his first mate, making his crew sweat drop at his antics.

"AHHHHHH" the crew flinched at the loud screaming, snapping their heads towards the little demon boy. The boy's eyes widened when he started at all the men around him, and their overwhelming presences was a lot for the little eight year old. Sure the boy had basked in the presence of the strong beings back in Novatera, but those people were familiar to him. Being on a ship full of strangers who had extremely strong presences was beyond terrifying. So he decided that the rational thing to do was to belt out a scream.

"Is Wally-chan dead!?" The boy ripped his attention from the burly looking men in front of him to look at the over-sized frog on the side. The only thing that calmed the boy was Wallace's heaving chest and his occasional snores. He has opted to speak the blue-sea's tongue, after all the more practice the better.

"Now now, who are you little boy?" Shanks crouched down so he was more eyelevel to the red-eyed boy, who obviously seemed frightened to be in their presence. The boy stared at the man with the bright red hair, simply because he has never seen anyone with a dramatic hair color such as red. He decided to push down his fears and stood up to meet the red-haired man's face.

 _Why is his presence so huge!_ Rory thought.

The boy pressed his forehead against the mans, a formal Novian greeting.

"My name is Rory, you have nice hair." The man gave a nervous laugh, his eyebrow twitching at the Rory's proximity. He reached out and pressed the boy away from him, his cloak doing a poor job to hide his only functioning arm.

"Saaa..Rory where ar-"

"WHAT IS THAT! DO HUMANS ONLY HAVE ONE ARM?!" Shanks gained a tick mark as a starry-eyed boy raced around him, picking up his cloak and rudely touching his stub. He noted when Rory excluded herself from the "humans" as if he wasn't one himself.

"Okay that's enough" Ben stepped forward to restrain the boy boy from further irking his captain. Rory stiffend when the man put his arms around her. His mind went a mile a second, for once it was properly working. His body reacted to how he trained in The Academy.

"Get off of me!" Rory cried, his hand swiped at Ben, it was charged with what seemed to be white lightning. Shank's eyes widened when he felt the change in haki.

 _Looks like he knows how to use it~_

"Now let's not get aggressive" he let an easygoing grin overtake his expression, trying to ease the boy into listening to him.

"What's up with you hair it's annoying~" Rory clenched his fists and Shanks was honestly getting annoyed with his antics. He was like a more annoying and blunt version of Luffy, if that was even possible.

"My name is Shanks, I am the captain here." Shanks introduced, he figured if he gave a little more information about himself than the boy would feel more relaxed. And it worked, he could see his shoulders lower and his sour expression go away.

"So you're a pirate huh…" Rory mused turning around to pick up his bag and aggressively stomped on the frog trying to wake him up.

"Oi!" the pirates chorused at his aggressive treatment while sweat dropping. Rory looked up at the pirate flag waving proudly on top the ship, and it honestly gave him goosebumps.

"So what are we going to do with him, Captain?" Lucky Roo took a bite from a large chunk of meat, bits of salvia flew out of his mouth and on the boy himself causing him to make an expression of disgust.

"Where are your parents?" Shanks picked up the boy from the scruff of his neck a strained smile on his face. There was only so much child interaction that he could withstand. Sure, Shanks could admit that he acted a little childish sometimes, but having a child on board of his Red Force is a little worrying for him. An unnecessary burden that he didn't want to deal with.

"Don't got any, I'm a pirate."

"..." Shanks felt a laugh bubbling up his chest as he stared into the boys red eyes. Which he had to admit they were a little creepy.

"BWAHAHAH" It was as if his entire crew were wired together because they all begun to laugh at the same time. Shanks dropped the boy, (quite harshly Rory would say) and laughed in the his face. It wasn't like they were intentionally being mean to the boy, of course it wasn't cool to laugh at another ones dream, but it's just that the crew had enough of children proclaiming their dreams of becoming pirates. And now this little black-haired munchkin was claiming that he is a pirate.

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Rory roared, his eyes filled with an intense fiery. He had enough of people making fun of the boys dreams, especially if this dream would allow him to finally be free from the clutches of his family name.

Shanks eyes widened when some of his newest recruit's eyes began to roll to the back of their heads, foam coming out of their mouths. Goosebumps appeared all over his body and the bright, sunny day suddenly felt...cold. Did this boy just...let out a blast of conquerors? Rory seemed unaware of what he just did and his face was scrunched up in heated irritation.

"I'm going to find the One Piece and I'll **finally be free**!" Rory cried out, his eyes were glassy and blood flowed from his fists from the intense clenching. Shanks, Benn, and Lucky Roo grinned. The pirate captain placed a hand on the boys shoulder and said something that brought tears into his eyes.

"Easy, easy **I believe you**." Rory didn't know that he needed that reassurance. He didn't know that he had doubt in the pits of his stomach, Rory wasn't sure that be belonged sailing those seas. He wasn't sure that he could actually achieve the freedom he so badly wanted. But hearing this red-haired pirate captain looking into his eyes so intently, well…Rory only began to believe in himself because this man in front of her seemed to believe in him so unconditionally. Rory's heart clenched as he thought of his late mother, his younger brother, and his best friend. He thought of everything he left behind and he thought of everything that he wanted in this sea.

In Rory's mind there was only one thing that made sense. This man in front of him was his favorite human so he reached forward and embraced him in a hug. It was a little awkward because Shanks was surprised and well...he only had one arm. Nevertheless he squeezed the boy and ignored the tears trickling down his bare chest. A man's tears shouldn't be made fun of.

"You've been through a lot haven't you" Rory hiccuped, the death of his brother fresh in his mind, the pressures of his father, the horrendous harassments of his siblings, and her struggle of self-loathing. Some would say that Rory is being disrespectful to little Sora by leaving Novatera so recent after his death, but Rory believed that he needed to "take" Sora with him as soon as possible for freedom. So he could "show" him what the blue seas were like, so he could "shown" him what true freedom was.

So, like earlier, Rory solved his problems by letting out a scream, Novian style…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAHH" Shanks grinned seeing his crew members flinch at the boys scream. The scream was thunderous, and it did hurt Shanks's ears but he didn't flinch away. Not when the two had made so much progress.

"You're safe **now**."


End file.
